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SIERRA VISTA — One of the most competitive fields in the 25-year history of the Copper Classic bodybuilding championships will be whittled to one man and one woman as best overall tonight at the Buena Performning Arts Center.
On the men’s side, Sierra Vista’s Cedric Hill returns after placing second overall to last year’s champion Neal Griffin. So that makes Hill the favorite to win best overall tonight, right?
Not so fast.
Tyler Mayer of Phoenix didn’t make it to the open class, which allows just the first-place winner in each weight group. Mayer had the edge in definition over Griffin in last year’s middleweight class, but Griffin’s superior mass ultimately carried the day.
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Mayer is back this year, so he must be the favorite going in, right?
Not so fast.
Mayer once again has tough competition in the middleweight class from 38-year-old Sierra Vistan David Horn who has made a very strong impression on event organizer Hank Diaz.
Hill may even have a tough time making it out of his light heavyweight class.
According to Buena Health Fitness personal trainer Carl Diaz, who is training Hill, Sarbaz Abdullah of Tucson may give his client a serious run for his money.
“I told Cedric, you can’t miss anything,” Carl Diaz said. “It could come down to the most obscure pose ... if Cedric can get past Abdullah, I think he can give (Mayer) a run for his money.”
Carl Diaz said Mike Arinello, Randy Pierce and Mark Marconi in the lightweight men’s class could also contend for best overall.
This silver anniversary event will have a new visual feature to keep the action flowing at a better pace.
Hank Diaz said the stage will be themed for Greek Antiquity.
“We have an apparatus on the stage for a Greek setting,” Hank Diaz said. “There will be columns in the middle and a partition with Hercules on one side and Venus on the other.
The competitors will take three steps up to get to the columns. Everyone will be a guest poser; we’ll hit them with the spotlight and smoke will come out.”
After this, the posers will approach the judges at the front of the stage for closer inspection.
On the women’s side, little is known about the favorites. Among the locals, Marianne Carey is favored, according to Carl Diaz.
Action begins with the morning session today at 9 a.m.
At 5 p.m. the lights come on for the evening session which will include more than 30 events, including Model Search, Ms. Fitness and a physically challenged category with former Tombstone High athletic star Eddie Valenzuela, who was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago.
There are a total of 57 competitors in this year’s night show, which is expected to last about two-and-a-half hours.
